Little Caesars employee in Arkansas tests positive for hepatitis A, health department warns
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Little Caesars employee in Arkansas tested positive for Hepatitis A. (iStock)
A Little Caesars employee in Arkansas tested positive for hepatitis A, the state’s health department announced Tuesday.
Health officials warned patrons who ate at a Paragould Little Caesars restaurant between July 19 to Aug. 2 to get vaccinated against hep A "immediately" if they haven't already done so.
Other locals may also want to get vaccinated as well.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CONTAMINATED FOOD SERVED AFTER FUNERAL KILLED CEREMONY KILLS AT LEAST 9 MOURNERS
“The ADH encourages all Greene County residents who are age 19 to 60 to get vaccinated for hep A whether or not they visited Little Caesar’s Pizza between July 19 and August 2,” the health department wrote in a Facebook post.
Little Caesars said it would close the restaurant until it was thoroughly cleaned.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WOMAN’S AD FOR RAW-CHICKEN ‘TEDDY BEARS’ PULLED FROM FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE
“We are doing everything we can to ensure a safe environment for our customers and employees," the pizza chain said in a statement to The Associated Press. "We are going above and beyond the health department’s requirements, including voluntarily closing the store and having it professionally cleaned and sanitized.”
Little Caesars said the Paragould establishment would reopen after the deep-cleaning concluded, adding that all employees would also receive vaccinations before returning to work. The chain said it hasn't received any reports of illnesses so far.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The health department calls hepatitis A “a vaccine-preventable, highly contagious liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus.”
“The disease can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a severe illness lasting several months,” health officials say, noting in rare instances it could be deadly.